Five Words is something that I initially wrote and released in 2018, then again under a CC license in 2019, and here it is again! This time, although the rules remain almost unchanged, I've added some art and reintroduced the fantasy setting from the 2018 version (omitted in the 2019 release). It's easy to adapt, plays fast, and has actually been play-tested! Plus, y'know, free.
https://drive.google.com/open?id=11up4uqIuoDZQocaOEW7GYm3sY2lLCaXW
Saturday, May 30, 2020
Who Are Adventurers?
My friends and I have talked a bit about this at length.
Many fantasy roleplaying games assume "adventurer" as a profession (even if just implied) and, to one degree or another, "adventurers" as an important cog in the machine that drives the setting's economy. What they don't often do is ruminate on who adventurers are and why they do what they do.
I theorize that adventurers are either desperate folks, fearless folks, or foolish folks. I mean, if you look at adventuring as a profession in the context of most common fantasy settings, what reasonable person would pursue that life?
The risk of being a professional adventurer is high and, while rewards can be earned, there are absolutely safer, more lucrative, professions in most such settings. A jeweler, money lender, or even just a shrewd merchant, for example, probably earns magnitudes more money than your typical tomb-looting vagabond - and without risking their lives on a daily basis.
So.
Desperate folks. Everybody needs to eat. Even in fantasy land, this is a given. If you don't have any marketable skills and haven't inherited a business or monies, you have to make money somehow. Anybody can loot a grave or raid a tomb. People have historically engaged in such activity in our own world for similar reasons. This is understandable.
Fearless folks. Daredevils do exist. People who indulge risky activity purely for the associated thrill. This is slightly less understandable because, in my opinion, it's not entirely rational. Ostensibly, the greater the risk, the greater the thrill, which is why these folks would rather wade knee deep into a horde of hungry undead than, say, climb a mountain. Such people are, to my mind, dangerous.
Foolish folks. Everybody knows at least one fool. These are the folks who just don't do the math and have visions of fame of untold fortune in their heads. And maybe they'll prove me wrong, but in my experience, such folks either end up dead or not substantially better off financially at the end of their career as a professional adventurer than they were at the beginning. Fame and fortune are, on most days, fleeting at best.
So, who is your adventurer? A desperate man or woman who has mouths to feed or debts to pay? A thrill-seeking daredevil who seeks out adventure for its own sake? Or a foolish person seeking to enrich themselves in what is quite possibly the riskiest way possible? And what does examining adventurers through this lens imply for your setting?
Some food for thought.
Many fantasy roleplaying games assume "adventurer" as a profession (even if just implied) and, to one degree or another, "adventurers" as an important cog in the machine that drives the setting's economy. What they don't often do is ruminate on who adventurers are and why they do what they do.
I theorize that adventurers are either desperate folks, fearless folks, or foolish folks. I mean, if you look at adventuring as a profession in the context of most common fantasy settings, what reasonable person would pursue that life?
The risk of being a professional adventurer is high and, while rewards can be earned, there are absolutely safer, more lucrative, professions in most such settings. A jeweler, money lender, or even just a shrewd merchant, for example, probably earns magnitudes more money than your typical tomb-looting vagabond - and without risking their lives on a daily basis.
So.
Desperate folks. Everybody needs to eat. Even in fantasy land, this is a given. If you don't have any marketable skills and haven't inherited a business or monies, you have to make money somehow. Anybody can loot a grave or raid a tomb. People have historically engaged in such activity in our own world for similar reasons. This is understandable.
Fearless folks. Daredevils do exist. People who indulge risky activity purely for the associated thrill. This is slightly less understandable because, in my opinion, it's not entirely rational. Ostensibly, the greater the risk, the greater the thrill, which is why these folks would rather wade knee deep into a horde of hungry undead than, say, climb a mountain. Such people are, to my mind, dangerous.
Foolish folks. Everybody knows at least one fool. These are the folks who just don't do the math and have visions of fame of untold fortune in their heads. And maybe they'll prove me wrong, but in my experience, such folks either end up dead or not substantially better off financially at the end of their career as a professional adventurer than they were at the beginning. Fame and fortune are, on most days, fleeting at best.
So, who is your adventurer? A desperate man or woman who has mouths to feed or debts to pay? A thrill-seeking daredevil who seeks out adventure for its own sake? Or a foolish person seeking to enrich themselves in what is quite possibly the riskiest way possible? And what does examining adventurers through this lens imply for your setting?
Some food for thought.
Friday, May 29, 2020
Socialites & Soirees: A free RPG
What if the Original Fantasy RPG had been more focused on social parley than flashing blades? Well, this little RPG takes that idea and runs with it. I wrote it over a weekend this month. It's short, simple, and free. Get it here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QQYWo4HzwaAHZtXUGgcbTQlxb7sW3SKX
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1QQYWo4HzwaAHZtXUGgcbTQlxb7sW3SKX
Simple Six v03: A Public Domain Fantasy RPG
I originally wrote this back in early 2019. This is the latest revision, complete in two pages. I haven't play-tested it over the course of a long-term campaign, but it holds up well in short, focused, play sessions. Anyhow, here it is for your gaming pleasure - and released to the public domain, so you can modify it however you like, for fun or profit!
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ORtCvgxJe4YuWMQW4Tz79nUJfFAzYPmY
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1ORtCvgxJe4YuWMQW4Tz79nUJfFAzYPmY
Badassitude: A free RPG
This is a free RPG about men and women of extraordinary mettle, complete in two pages. It's inspired by Snake Plissken (though possibly Solid Snake, as well). Enjoy!
Friday, May 22, 2020
Excuses
I'm still working on a review for The Dark Peaks: The Festival of Swords and You Got a Job on the Garbage Barge. These are coming along s-l-o-w-l-y (but they are coming). The last two weeks have not been great mental health weeks, but I've been trying my best to get these reviews written!
This morning, in the grip of depression (sorry, I know that's not very positive), I retired my Twitter account after a week of shit Twitter (I'm aware that's not positive, either) and no real outlet to deal with the accumulating stress.
But!
I'm on the road to recovery and, now that I won't be obsessively sifting through tweets, I'll have plenty of time to devote to this blog, reviews, and positivity in general (there's the positivity).
Monday, May 11, 2020
The Merchant's Heart (Review-ish)
This isn't a proper review, nor even a capsule review. I did, however, want to say some kind words about this adventure module. I purchased it awhile back and was reminded of it this morning when a person whom I follow on Twitter was asking for short adventure recommendations that could easily be dropped into a Victorian Era city setting. This qualifies. And it's quite good.
Make no mistake - this isn't an intricate adventure full of subtle nuance. It's short, to the point, and brutal. It isn't fancy, but the price is right and it's a simple mystery that can be dropped into any crapsack setting without much work. The mechanics are couched in D&D-isms, but it's simple enough to convert it for use with any system, using those mechanics as guidelines.
So, check it out, here:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/267950/The-Merchants-Heart
Make no mistake - this isn't an intricate adventure full of subtle nuance. It's short, to the point, and brutal. It isn't fancy, but the price is right and it's a simple mystery that can be dropped into any crapsack setting without much work. The mechanics are couched in D&D-isms, but it's simple enough to convert it for use with any system, using those mechanics as guidelines.
So, check it out, here:
https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/267950/The-Merchants-Heart
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